Next Year Will Be Different!

Over the years when I got frustrated Bruce always told me "next year will be different".  Eventually I realized that I was tired of "different" and wanted "better" for a change.  This year is different than 2011 in almost every way, including some ways that are genuinely better.

My last posts included very low temperatures and broken drinking cups and water pipes.  From that point the winter warmed up.  We only had a couple snows that Bruce even had to do anything, and with those he only had to push the snow around with the skid steer.  I don't believe the snow blower even got put on a tractor last winter!  With more cooperative weather he had more "free time" to do other farm projects.  By March the weather included record warm temperatures and we slept with the windows open for 2 weeks straight!  March is usually rain, sleet, snow, and mud in Wisconsin.  April brought rain, which in hind sight was much more of a blessing than we realized at the time.  With the warm March weather the pastures started to grow.  We could have had the cows out eating grass by the end of March but we took a week off to go and meet our new grandson in Utah.  As soon as we got back the cows went out on pasture, the first week in April, a record.  The weather was nice and the cows did well.  All better!

Earlier in spring the temperature fluctuations created frost lines on the silo that show how full they were.  Haylage is on the right and corn silage is on the left.

In this case the frost line shows where the wet 2009 corn is.

We got crops planted within a week in mid May.  Official totals are 80 acres of corn, 12 acres of barley/alfalfa seeding and 83 acres of hay.  After 45 acres of hay last year 83 seemed like an awful lot going into the season.  With the help of Ed, Dominic, Kristine, Joe and a friend we managed to get the stones picked up on all of the seeding from last year and this year.  For a change we felt like we were back on top of things.  By this point last spring we were mentally, physically and emotionally worn out!  Better!

As spring has moved into summer the rains stopped.  The weather has gotten consistantly hot and the pasture has dried up.  The  cows have been back in the barn for a few weeks already and back on TMR like it was winter.  Our costs doing this have gone up.  We are most thankful now for rains in April and a very good first crop.  Our feed inventories were the lowest they have been in years so the timing of a drought is ironic.  Different ; (

This pasture was clipped weeks ago in anticipation of regrowth.  Last week we had 1.5" of rain so we are hoping the pasture starts growing soon.

To catch up on other differences:  The cows have been freshinging, for the most part, without incident.  We have had only 1 cow die.  Last week right after the heat one was having her calf when she suddenly struggled to breath.  We called the vet and she arrived about 20 minutes later but too late for our cow.  What we know is she was totally dilated except for her cervex.  We know the calf was breach and dead.  What the vet suspects by our description of events is while she was laboring a piece of hardware punctured her stomach, quite possibly doing immediate damage to her heart area.  We have had only 2 sets of twins, one set stillborn and early and one set of heifer twins.  One cow did end up with a DA surgery (one of 2 surgeries this year) but both managed to continue on and are doing well.  We have only recently have a couple cows volunteer to leave, both older cows that had sore feet.  The dry weather allows rocks in the pasture to cause more injuries with no cushioning, which in turn causes the cows to move around and eat less.  This causes digestive imbalances, which cause more foot problems.  Add the diet changes from lack of pasture, and heat and you have challenges some cows just can't handle.  Cows, overall better!

The calves have done well also.  It stayed just cold enough earlier that the hutches stayed dry.  Like people, the calves had a better appetite than when its warm and they have grown well.  We have had a couple new adventures.  A couple months ago we had a calf born that very quickly had severe pneumonia.  The vet was called and he treated it with a diagnosis that it either inhaled milk or fluid when it was born.  With the treatment it would either live or not.  It did live and was doing very well for a couple weeks.  One morning when I got to the barn he was really struggling to breath, and before I had a chance to even tell Bruce, he died.  Another recent adventure was a calf that also suddenly struggled to breath after she was fed so we called the vet.  As it turns out, we figure this calf swallowed a bee that must have been floating in her milk pail when I fed her. Her throat was swollen but her lungs sounded clear so she got a shot of dexamethazone in the trachea and by evening was back to drinking but still struggling to breath.  Within a few days she was breathing normally  but the long term effect is she has no voice!  Bruce checked all of the hutches and found the start of 4 bees nests in the top of the.  In hind site I am positive that is what killed the bull calf mentioned earlier, given the fact that he was fine when Bruce got to the barn and in severe stress when I arrived a bit later.  Calves, better! (bees not so much!)

The goats kidded as they should have, in April and May.  With the nice weather we only had the heat lamp for the first two sets of twins.  We did have a very few die that were born outside over night during the cold & rain.  The goats continue to challenge us in the fact that this group continues to cross 25 acres of pasture to eat corn.  Corn is off limits and they were put in their winter fence long before the drought.  The current plan (again) is to sell them in fall to lighten both our work and frustration load!  : )  Goats, just being goats.  They can't help it!

These were the last kids born.  The black makes them extra cute ; )

We have enjoyed a year of "normal" breakdowns!  To date our repair costs are about $6,600.  By this time last year we had spent $23,652!!!!!    Better!  Thank God!

The milk price January thru June last year averaged $17.07.  This year those same months have averaged $15.91.  The added challenge to the drop in milk price is the drop in milk production due to continuous record warm temperatures and our protein costs recently at a record high of $590 per ton.  (last year at this point it was $507)  With the current drought comes the concern that we will have a smaller corn crop, or worse yet, no crop at all.  With 1.5" of rain last week our fears have gone from severe concern to guarded based on future rains.  The corn is tastling already with the heat creating enough growing degree days to this point.  The plants are short but there is still potential of them producing a full sized ear with moisture so we are hoping and praying......  Corn silage will be expensive to harvest and it will take many more acres to get the amounts we got last year.  That senario has yet to play out so we will see what September brings.  Concerning and challenging!

Currently we are making 2nd crop hay.  It is late by the calendar to be doing it but with no rain there wasn't much out there to harvest.  The quality isn't what we would like for cows so we are putting it in a silo bag.  Depending on how the year plays out we will be getting feed for cows from our silo, Ed's or a couple different silo bag options.  While we managed to get 4 loads off 5 acres of first crop, 2nd crop has given us 2.5 loads off 20 acres!  We purchased a new lawn mower late in the season last year and have only had to use it a few times this year.  We are afraid to mow.  There have been grass fires caused by mowers hitting rocks and equipment hitting rocks and starting fields on fire.  There are some very pretty weeds that thrive in this weather.  They make us smile ; )

2012 Week 3

Monday was a beautiful, sunny, 30 degree day.  After milking we did some blood draws to confirm pregnancies.  These cows had been pregnant on their previous blood draw but we like to do a recheck just in case.  I came home, did the paperwork and got them ready to mail when I went to work, and then realized it was a holiday and the post office was closed.  While I was at work Bruce  spent the day getting cattle details in order.  The first round of cows we have dried up are now relocated and getting their dry cow TMR.  The good news is having them off regular TMR will decrease our protein costs, but the reality is these dry cows produce no income until March.  Bruce also did a final check of the heifers and made the list of who needs to be bred.  These heifers also got a  prostaglandin shot which is supposed to bring them into estrus.  Domenic came and bedded heifers and calves, along with helping with the cow move.  After all the animal details were covered Bruce tried to put the hydraulic cylinder on the manure spreader.  He had purchased this cylinder at a local farm supply store but evidently, even with measurements, all cylinders are not created equal.   Plan B took effect and he ordered one through my dad.  With all the events of the day feeding got started late. With all the cow moves when I was gone, Bruce suggested that I wait for him to start milking. Milking was confusing at first and it was a very late night.

Tuesday we woke up to more snow, and by the end of the day we had about 3 more inches of the white stuff.  We could have predicted this weather a week ago since that is when I scheduled our corporate meeting with the lawyer.  In the 35 years we have been having these meetings, easily 30 of our trip have involved miserable driving weather, many times with ice.  I started milking myself, and I felt like I had arrived in someone elses barn.  Moving cows changes the entire rythm of milking, but once I got going everything worked fine.  Bruce, on the other hand, started his day by having to let the silo unloader down a door.  That never speeds up feeding but he now knows we have 45 feet of corn silage yet.  While he was feeding a heifer had a stanchion break so we moved her to an empty stall and I continued milking while Bruce fed.  We were 2/3 done when our milk hauler walked in.  He had hoped to change his route a bit and stopped in early.  We explained everything that hadn't gone right and apologized for not being done.  He laughed and left to continue his route and came back later.  Since he deals with farmers every day, and had cattle of his own, he knows not all days go smoothly.    We had hoped to make some stops before our meeting but we ran out of time.  Our corporation started in 1976 as a way to allow Bruce the opportunity to begin gaining ownership.  The land was tied up in a well intentioned will until 1991 so the forming of a corporation separated the business part of the farm from the real estate. For many of the early years we met with an accountant and a lawyer and there was always new information presented.  These days the meeting is nothing more than confirming that we are still operating the farm with the same stockholders and board of directors.  We also verify wages, benefits and explained our health insurance dilemma.  As of March our premium is going up to $1790/mo. It is no surprise to us that he has many clients with health insurance premiums that are challenging to cover.  After our meeting we made a few stops, including the returning of the wrong hydraulic cylinder.    Bruce fed and I started milking.  This time milking went more smoothly....next week we will dry up and move more cows.

Wednesday we headed to the barn with a temperature of -2.  Exactly a week ago Bruce was doing equipment maintenance in the sun in front of the shed with 50 degree temperatures.  Wow, what a change!  When we were done milking Bruce had just enough time to get the feed box over to Ed's so he could fill it.  When they went to start the elevator, it seemed to be jammed.  Bruce had an appointment in town so he left it, hoping the wind didn't blow too much when he got back.  As it turned out, it looked like a rodent had done some digging and pushed dirt through the bottom of the elevator boot.  They were able to get it running and the wagon filled despite the wind.  Thankfully the barn was protecting where they were at and they put a big load on the feed box.

Thursday we woke up to -8 degrees, reached a high temp of 5, and had -8 degrees when we got in after milking.  It was a pretty quiet day other than feeding.  Domenic is gone so Bruce is back to doing all the feeding.  We certainly enjoyed the help, even if it was only a few hours.  We got the results of our blood draws back, with mixed results.  We had a heifer pregnant that we weren't sure of but we also had a cow that was open that had previously been called pregnant.  This late in the game she gets added to our cull list.  Disappointing!  Bruce spent the afternoon hauling stacks to bed the lower building here.  Mike gets SO excited helping and takes it upon himself to keep all the heifers in areas where Bruce isn't working.  When we went to start evening milking it was cold enough in the milkhouse that there was ice on the floor.  I started milking and Bruce covered the compressor opening a bit tighter.  Given the fact its already mid January we shouldn't complain, but being optimists, we wouldn't have minded more warm temps.  After milking Bruce made some weather stripping out of feed bags and used screws to keep them in place.  What did we do before battery operated tools!

Friday we got snow again!  Nearly 4 inches of very fluffy snow.  We appreciate 4 inches because the forecast said 4-8, and it also predicted wind which never happened.  We got a high temp of 5 degrees but when the sun came out it was absolutely beautiful!  It was a work day in town for me.   Mike loves this snow but has managed to lose his glow in the dark balls that he plays with outside.  He is just as happy chasing snow lumps so we just use those for now.

Saturday was beautiful and sunny with a cold start of -12 degrees.  By mid afternoon we had temps in the 20's.  I asked Bruce what his plans were for the day when we were milking and he said feed steers, feed calves, feed heifers, feed goats and replace a broken drinking cup.  The south is our most exposed direction and with a south wind and low temps it's nearly impossible to keep everything thawed.  By the end of the day he had all that done, along with fixing a broken water pipe.

2012 Week 2

We started the week with highs in the 40's and low 50's. Bruce enjoyed doing tractor maintenance without gloves in the sunshine in front of the shed.  He changed oil and fuel filters in our big tractor and also repaired the ball joint on the shift cable that had broken when we were doing corn.  At that time, and a few times since, he had used electrical  tape  to hold the broken one in place.  Bruce also had a chance to change the oil in the skid steer.  Keith came and replaced the shutters on one of our big fans.  Two of the fans are just fine but this fan is the primary one that runs all year around.  Over time, one by one, the louvers were breaking off and it had gotten to the point that it was pretty darned cold on that end of the barn.  Keith drove his lift up near the barn so he could do the work, and in the process created some significant lawn damage.  Lawn damage in January????  There is very little frost in the ground with the warm temps so the damage couldn't be helped.  By all accounts, the early part of the week felt more like April than January with barn doors open and areas of the driveway muddy.  By Thursday morning winter arrived with a snow storm that dropped 5 inches of fluffy snow, 25 mph winds and high temps of 18 degrees.  With the  change in temperatures, another thing had to be moved up on the "to do" list.  Bruce usually puts windows in the sides of the skid steer cab, and had purchased new sheets of plastic to replace a broken one.  He cut the plastic to size, edged it with foam weather stripping and then had me come and help hold it in place so he could drill the holes to bolt it in.  After we were done he started plowing snow.  After all the snow last year we are really appreciating the quiet weather.  This was the first time we had to plow, and if Bruce has his way, this snow would stay to protect our alfalfa fields until spring.  I hadn't put calf coats on the older calves earlier because they were born when it was warmer.  With  a forecast that says the cold will be here for awhile, I put coats on the older 3 that are still in hutches.  Bruce is in the process of building a replacement door for the barn in our basement.  He has it nearly finished, and today I asked him if it was skid steer proof.  LOL  He told me if it was he would just get a bigger skid steer!  : )

2012 Week 1

This year has been pretty quiet so far, especially compared to last year.  We have no snow but we do have ice where the sun doesn't hit.  The worst area happens to be between the milk house and my calf hutches so I travel cautiously when I feed calves.  I am down to 7 calves in hutches now since I have moved another 4 inside.  I will have 4 weaned very shortly and will start that process with the 4 I just brought in.  We are still waiting for the last heifer to freshen.  She doesn't seem to be in any big hurry.  Another huge change from last year is we have no goat kids. That is exactly how it is supposed to be : )  Early this week we had a high in the low teens with a low of about 5 degrees.  Two days later we had a record high of 52!  This is not normal January weather.  The cattle seem to be doing well despite the warmer temps.  It does help that the sun is out and it's not damp.  The challenging part of this warm weather is keeping the animals bedded since nothing is freezing.

The routine of feeding and milking continues.  We have no special needs cows but we do have one heifer that insists on kicking her milker off.  She doesn't give us any trouble when we prep her but she does think she can remove the milker at her own discretion.  Milkers are expensive and removing them with a flying foot, especially before she is done milking, can't continue.  At this point she will behave when someone stands and watches her.  That keeps us from moving along with the rest of the cows like we would normally do so she is extremely frustrating!  There is always someone who doesn't read the manual and we are thankful that the rest of the heifers are blending into the herd nicely.  Added to the routine this week was a visit from Vicky.  Concerns covered on this visit were the need to worm and delouse the cows, addressing moisture level changes in the feed (Bruce had already made changes), and our current breeding list.  We also discussed the goats leaving and what our goals were for 2012.  She highly suggests we "simplify".  We like the concept but aren't exactly sure what we can eliminate to do that.  Bills continue and prices fluctuate and things break.  Domenic finished washing the rest of the pipeline and we now have it all labeled with current information. We tested milk this week and found that a couple more cows on the cull list can leave.  This list is getting pretty small!  We also found the heifers are doing ok, and the heifer kicking off her milker does not have job security based on her production.  This week we also had a visit from our dairy plant representative, we believe the official title is "field rep".  I will try to be nice here and just say that we aren't exactly sure what is required to hold this position and receive a paycheck.  The information he delivered this time was involving the somatic cell count.  Our plant will be dropping the allowed standards to coincide with international market demands and also to meet the public "perception" of what these numbers are. It seems ironic to us that they consider these numbers important but it takes as long as 5 days to get sample results back, not to mention they charge us to have them done.  He also brought us information about a program to consider that ensures our milk plant that we are being kind to our animals, again dealing with the "perception" that farmers can abuse the animals that create their income. Bruce has compared this business to living in a pinball machine.  That explanation will require its own post!  : )

We have a couple events from 2011 I missed in my posts.  Our seed corn order has already been created, although not paid for yet.  Depending on what discount deadline we meet we will be spending $8,000-$10,000.  The December 2011 class III price has been announced as $18.77. Once again we have lost opportunity with our contracted amount $17.36.   Historically, the class III for 2009 was $14.98 and in 2010 it was $13.83 with a 15 year high of $20.60 in 2007 and a low of $9.37 in 2000.  A recent news story told that the highest investment gains in 2011were recognized by those investing in milk futures. Unfortunately these investors create the volatility in the price we are paid for our milk, and its their short term gain that is undermining dairy's ability to survive.

Overall it has been a quiet week.  Bruce has made repairs to a hydraulic hose on the tractor and a hydraulic cylinder on the manure spreader.  Total parts $100 and all things Bruce can fix himself. Mike has perhaps enjoyed the most excitement in weeks with opportunities to move cattle for various reasons.  He also had a visit from the neighboring 4 year old.  As long as there are 2 balls involved, Mikes game of "keep away" works.  A 4 year old doesn't mind running after the ball that is dropped and throwing it.  It was particularly funny for us watching because eventually the 4 year old started making a  "keep away" game of his own and Mike was really trying to figure out what was going on.  In the end, as we are told, the 4 year old went to bed early....and so did the dog.

The End Of 2011- In Pictures

our driveway with the breaker rock

finished with a few loads of gravel.

the first 60 stacks huddled together to minimize wind damage

stacks in the field where they were created and waiting to be moved

our barn roof with its shiney new repairs

holstein calves markings varry.  We had 10 beef calves that seemed to look the same

this is a regular drinking cup.  cows push down the paddle and the water runs.

Bruce managed to get a picture of our visitor in the tree next to our shop

this drinking cup was installed because #6 kept putting her jaws above and below in a regular cup and ran gallons of water on the floor.  She can't do that anymore